In PPC the last click is measured as a conversion, meaning the last ad that is clicked on is the one that counts. Sometimes advertisers will struggle with underperforming campaigns trying to decide if they are working or not, especially when they don’t see conversions coming through.

We know that searchers will do multiple searches and often click on more than one ad prior to converting. We know that often there is a sequence of interactions between the consumer and advertiser before the conversion.

Finding data that to read deeper into Adwords campaign performance is key.

1. Google Analytics: Top Conversion Paths

This report will show paths that people took to reach a conversion. This allows you to see if a channel or campaign contributed to the conversion, even though it may not have been the last click. If a campaign is contributing to the sales funnel, there is a good argument for continuing to run it.

Find it in Google Analytics in the left navigation under Conversions > Multi-channel Funnels > Top Conversion Paths

For analyzing Adwords performance, we want to look at the path to conversion where interactions on the path are represented by AdWords campaign names. Use the dimensions and data type to filter to see only Adwords campaigns in the path, Adgroup paths, or even keywords

Use the advanced search box to further isolate the data to the exact campaign name to see how it is contributing to conversions.

2. Adwords: Campaigns Assisting The Final Conversion

Assisted Conversions

Reports on assisted clicks and impressions that led to a conversion can be found in Adwords. Assisted clicks include all the clicks leading up to a conversion, except for the last click.

View-Through Conversions

This conversion occurs when someone views an AdWords display ad, doesn’t click on it, but later completes a conversion action on the website. This metric excludes conversions from people who also clicked on a search ad.

This search funnel data is available in Adwords in the main view reports by simply adding the columns via the customize columns button.

This is helpful information to check before deciding to stop advertising on keywords that seem to not convert. If they are assisting conversions, they have value and should to run in the account.

3. Strategy: Goal Evaluation

Finally, the last way to determine if a PPC campaign is really working is to simply reevaluate or change your point of view about its goals. Here are some questions you can ask yourself about the campaign in question:

1. Is it converting sales or leads? Could it contribute to micro-conversions if that was set-up?
2. Is it sending quality traffic to the site? Determine this by reviewing query reports, time on site, and bounce rate.
3. Is it contributing to branding?
4. Does it help to maintain a competitive edge by being present in SERPS that are difficult to conquer via SEO efforts?

Do you have a secret sauce for evaluating if PPC campaign is really working? Tell us in the comments.